Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Genesis 4:13-16 (NIV)
13 Cain said to the LORD, "My punishment is more than I can bear. 14 Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me." 15 But the LORD said to him, "Not so [e] ; if anyone kills Cain, he will suffer vengeance seven times over." Then the LORD put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. 16 So Cain went out from the LORD's presence and lived in the land of Nod, [f] east of Eden.
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3 comments:
Though He is angry with Cain and curses him to become a restless wanderer, we can still see a loving and protective God. He makes sure that nobody kill Cain, as wander around... Again, we should remember how lost and meaningful our lives can be, if we don't obey Him and abide by His words. We have not been called to become restless wanderers, but we should constantly seek His wisdom and guidance in our lives.
I find it interesting that Cain would say such to God that whoever finds him will him. We can see that he is afraid of death. Perhaps he understood after killing his brother, that others can just as easily kill him with bit of hatred.
An important observation here is that Cain accepts that he should be punished since he does not try to blame on someone else like his parents. But he does confess his true feeling to God that it is more than he can bear. He confess his fear.
To me this is definitely a punishment but it is also a trial for Cain and rest of us. A trial that God knows we can handle and mature.
Even though Cain was cursed that didn't mean God's love for him was removed. His love always remains.
I also find it interesting that Cain fears suffering the same fate that he forced upon his brother. Especially interesting because at that time there was a total of only 3 people in the world -- his parents and himself. So his fear was pretty ridiculous. I think this demonstrates that man naturally realizes that evil thoughts and actions can beget further evil thoughts and actions. That's why I find all the sinful behaviors that are publicized (and even glorified, at times) in the form of news or entertainment media (films, TV, novels) so repugnant.
The other interesting part of this passage for me is verse 14 when Cain acknowledges his punishment will force him to "be hidden from" God's presence. This is such a devastating reality when you think about it. But what's even more sad is to realize that much of mankind today thinks living in a God-less world is normal.
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